First Impressions: Tapes 'n Tapes- Outside.

1. Badaboom
2. SWM
3. One in the World
4. Nightfall
5. Desert Plane
6. Outro
7. Freak Out
8. The Saddest of All Keys
9. Hidee Ho
10. People You Know
11. On and On
12. Mighty Long

Standouts: Badaboom, SWM, One in the World, Desert Plane, Freak Out, Hidee Ho, On and On

7/10

The internet can be a cruel cruel place—just ask Minneapolis indie-rock band Tapes ‘n Tapes. In 2006, Tapes ‘n Tapes released their debut album, The Loon, to critical acclaim (from bloggers and publications alike). They were stamped with the often damning title of “Next Big Thing,” and in its wake, were left with an insurmountable amount of pressure to do something great for their sophomore album.

A greatness that two years later, with the release of Walk it Off, according to P4K (and others), never arrived. The fork gave it a 5.9, and the rest of the low scores followed. Within that year, the band went from “Next Big Thing” to extremely scrutinized and, pretty much, forgotten. And then, a few months back, they appeared on the musical radar again. They dropped “Freak Out” the lead single off their third impending album, Outside, and well, here we are.

Outside is neither The Loon II or Walk it Off II, more so, it’s a combination of the two, with a few surprises thrown in. One surprise that stood out for me in particular was the tropicalia-esque feel on “One in the World.” I liked it.

In the simplest terms: Is it better than Walk it Off? In my opinion, yes it is. Is it as good as The Loon? No, but then again which band (around the early two-thousands) with a superb debut has been able to surpass said debut in quality? The Strokes? Nope. Interpol? Nope. Yeah Yeah Yeahs? Nope. Why? Because that’s likely a place they will never return to. Which, in all fairness, is something we shouldn’t be asking of them to do.

Spotlight

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